


Wing

by HunterOfTheWild



Series: KiyoKuro hurts me [7]
Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: AU, M/M, Pre-Slash, everyone has wings, no ones dead in this fic, wing fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-29
Updated: 2016-09-29
Packaged: 2018-08-18 12:27:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8162041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HunterOfTheWild/pseuds/HunterOfTheWild
Summary: Kuroko Tetsuya had the misfortune of being born with uncommonly large wings. His mother refused to let him fly, but Kiyoshi might just set him free.





	

Opening his eyes wearily, Tetsuya focused on the bright lamp hanging above him. It swung lightly, the breeze swinging it back and forth, like a pendulum. Shutting his eyes again, he tried to pay minimal attention to the sounds he could hear his mother making from the door to his room.

“Tetsuya! Come on dear, today is your first day oh high school.”

He could hear the gentleness in her voice, the patience which she put into caring for him and the permanent caution. And he hated it. Even as he slowly made his way out of bed, she already rushed over to him and straightened out his bedhead. “Oh, look at you, so cute in the mornings! Come on, this way.” As she shepherded him towards the baths, Tetsuya could feel the irritation growing against his will.

He watched in dismay, as his mother carefully ruffled his feathers, loosening any dirt he might have accumulated. This had been his daily regime since he was small, as soon as his wings started growing faster and bigger than they were supposed to. Doctors hadn't been able to make sense of their absurd growth, but warned his mother of their strain on him. By now, at 16, they were to big for him to clean efficiently by himself – truly, it was embarrassing to need help for such a basic task. It was also the reason why he had never been on any class excursions of similar. As they finished the process, his mother sent him off to finish the rest of his routine.

As she left the bathroom, Tetsuya very carefully folded his wings as tightly as he could against his back. He hated this part the most though, as his wings tended to strain against the soft wrapping he folded around them. _Sometimes they will get in other people's way._ He heard his mother's voice clearly. _But it also ensures that I never fly._ The wrapping prevented him from even opening them halfway, although that was about the average size of a 14 year old boy.

Even as Tetsuya walked into his own room, he tightly furled his wings against his back. It was ingrained in him and minimized the only thing that gave him any sort of visibility. He halted by the mirror, turning to see if his wings were secure and not in danger of hurting. Even as he did, his eyes traced the uncommon features of his wings.

_They really should have realized that something was up earlier._

Where most people's wings were attached at around their shoulder blades, Tetsuya's were somewhat lower and angled differently. Instead of upwards, his angled downwards, more towards his center of balance. It amplified the weird appearance all the more though, Tetsuya mused. There seemed to be a few bones too many and also much lighter than they looked. Although, as he felt the constant strain on his back, not much lighter than normal. Sighing reflexively, Tetsuya continued to pull on his uniform. His pants were the normal type, whereas his shirt and top pieces had to be made custom. The one he chose was the easiest to put on himself and as such much more preferred – he pulled in on from the bottom, while the front zipped up to top of his throat. The back however, left a gap in the cloth for his wings and zipped up the rest of the way to the nape of his neck. It left quite a large hole, but the general mess of feathers were sufficient to cover the spot.

Hurrying out of the house before his mother could further fuss, Tetsuya looked up in part envy, part apathy at some of the younger people flying towards their destinations.

Settling on the train, Tetsuya made sure to stand. He didn't want people bumping into his wings nor did he want anyone taking a closer look at them. Often people would assume that there was something wrong with his wings, _well, they're not completely wrong_ , and if they could actually spot him, made fun of him because of it.

_Look, dumb Kuroko can't even fly this high!_

_Look, he can't follow us here!_

_Look, he's gonna fall!_

Blinking away unpleasant memories, Tetsuya focused on his surroundings more. Nature was after all peaceful, even if you didn't spot much of it in the thick of it all. Large trees seemed to burst out of the concrete, providing a green backdrop for the otherwise gray city.

Even as he walked towards his new school, Tetsuya kept an eye on the people around him.

The amount of girls _not_ wearing skirts did surprise him however. In his previous school, girls preferred to walk and never fly, so they stuck to skirts. But the girls who instead wore pants were much more likely to be involved in sports or generally flying about. Widening his gaze, Tetsuya felt his heart sink at all the students he saw wearing the more flying appropriate clothes.

The school offered two choices for uniforms – the normal or the flight uniform.

The flight uniform consisted of skin-tight clothing, made to endure various weather conditions and minimize air resistance.

Tetsuya subconsciously tugged at the collar of his own flight attire. He was never allowed to fly much, but even his mother conceded that this uniform was much easier to get on and off around his wings. But now it only proved a hazard – he wouldn't be able to blend into non-fliers so much anymore.

As he looked around, Tetsuya was struck by how many non-bird wings there were however. In Teikou, it had basically been a prerequisite to have the bird genes and many students who didn't seemed to drop out very quickly. But here, it seemed, all types were welcome.

Tetsuya felt the beginnings of a smile form on his face.

 

* * *

 

 

“Riko, do you think we'll get any new members?” Teppei asked as he slumped over his desk, angling his head to watch his friend. Thinking for moment, Riko nodded confidently and continued playing on her phone. “We had a good showing last year, Teppei.” She focused on her phone again, tapping away. And if Teppei knew her well enough, she was probably looking at the statistics of this years possible opponents. Turning his head to look out of the window, Teppei could see the students pouring in. Birds, bats, butterflies. The variety was astounding this year.

Smiling broadly, Teppei stretched his wings in happiness, ignoring the cries of dismay next to him. His soft brown feathers whistled lightly in the air as he furled them back close. “Sorry Riko.” He said cheerfully, already standing up. “Shouldn't we get ready for the fair? We have the hall to prepare, don't we?” Sighing, Riko nodded and stood up, whacking Teppei's arm lightly. “Come on, you idiot.” Flaring her leathery wings lightly, she indicated her seriousness. “We need good members this year. Put on a show.”

 

* * *

 

 

And indeed they put on a show. While those who preferred to not fly had their own version of basketball, Teppei would never understand why they didn't love the aerial one more. Looking up from his position on the floor, he couldn't suppress his urge to jump up and join his friends on the field. The light fluttering of his wings alerted Riko to his thoughts, who then sent him a glare that would freeze hell. Sighing in dejection, Teppei instead cast his gaze over the watching students, instantly spotting the most prominent one; an incredibly tall, intense student with the wings to match. The students around him gave him a wide berth, probably partly due to his glare, partly due to his subconsciously flaring of dark red, scaled wings. Teppei grinned.

_That one's just as anxious to get up there._

A slight movement further back brought his attention to the small figure leaving the hall. A vague frown appeared on Teppei's face and stood up to get a better look. What kind of person would leave in the middle of a game? Thinking back to Hyuuga's original opinion of aerial basketball, _or air ball_ , the tall brunet made up his mind to find the small student. Pushing through the throng of students who barely paid him any attention, Teppei hurriedly followed the disappearing student.

As the other finally stood still, Teppei finally caught a look at his back and instantly focused on his wings. Deep, deep black feathers stuck together in a mess that looked wrong to Teppei. A slight flutter let him glimpse the soft white binding and set a confused frown on his face again. He had worn the same type of binding when his wings had started puberty before him and rapidly started growing. But as soon as his body caught up, he didn't wear them anymore. Something was up with this kid and Teppei was intent on finding out what.

“Hey” He started, “why did you leave the game?”

His voice rang clear in the silence of the area, soft sounds of the crowd audible. Only then did he realize that the smaller boy's shoulders were shaking. “Woah, you ok?” He asked softly, slowly walking closer.

“I want to know what it's like to fly.” Tetsuya's words were sudden and determined, with a soft quiver. He had entered the hall with dim curiosity, not really that focused on where he was going. But the first _thump_ of that bright orange ball hitting calloused hands, flying through the air and he was in love again. All his experiences at Teikou seemed to vanish into thin air. It was like the first time he saw the court.

Teppei stopped and raised his hand to scratch his neck awkwardly, wings shuffling behind him. “Don't you do that every day?” He really was confused though. Wouldn't a young guy like him fly everywhere? But another look at what was the mess of feathers and Teppei rethought his opinion. “I'm Kiyoshi Teppei.”

The other boy turned around and Teppei was met with the most intense eyes he had seen yet. Flashing bright blue in the sun, the other nodded and offered his own name. “Kuroko Tetsuya.” He hesitated a bit and finally shrugged, the motion looking oddly strange on him. “Are you part of the flock?” It took Teppei a few seconds to grasp what Tetsuya had said. “So that's what they're calling it nowadays? Yep, I am.” Tetsuya looked at him with an odd expression and smiled lightly. “That's what they call it in Teikou.” Teppei's eyes widened at the mention of the famous middle school. “You're from Teikou?” A small bittersweet feeling welled up at the mention of his old school and Tetsuya closed his eyes momentarily. A small nod was all Teppei needed to convince him of the fact.

“Come on then! Let me introduce you to Riko!”

 

* * *

 

 

Riko wasn't convinced by his introduction of Tetsuya as she glanced at his body, the overall stats quite low. The mess of feathers left her feeling even more doubtful and she didn't spare his back more than a quick glance. “Well, we'll see you at training?” She glanced at the proud looking Teppei and smacked a hand to her forehead. Why couldn't he bring her the competent ones?

But Tetsuya did appear for training. As Riko went through the list of attendees, she at first didn't see him at all. As his voice rang out, Riko and the other members jumped in surprise. Tetsuya stood at the very back and just like all the others, still in his flight attire. “Well then.” Riko coughed. “Let's continue.

All of you, shirts off.”

She gave them a few moments before they reacted.

“EHH?”

 _Ah, the typical male reaction._ She laughed in amusement, but insisted once again. Reluctantly, most of them slowly pulled off their shirts in complicated maneuvers, each having their small quirk. At the left, she could see Hyuuga pulling one wing through the holes gently at a time. But right at the back, she saw Tetsuya fiddling with his zipper and continuing on with what was probably the strangest clothing piece and dressing method she had seen in a long time. _Just what is going on here?_ As Tetsuya finally got rid of the shirt, he bent his arms to loosen the binding around his wings, finally feeling the strain letting up a bit. Hesitantly, he still folded them flat against his back, nervous about the reaction his future team mates might have. But to Riko's eye, his wings seemed to become less of a mess, but more a streamlined chaos of feathers.

“Line up!” She shouted, clipboard at ready in her hands.

_Average._

_Average._

_Slightly above average._

_What?!_ She halted in front of the tall, intense first year and stared at his stats. _Incredible!_ She circled him some more, eyeing his scaled wings with pleasure. “Spread 'em out, will you? What's your name again?” The speed with which he snapped his wings open nearly hit Riko's head, who dodged deftly.

“Kagami Taiga, sir. Uh, mam.”

His wing span was large, almost two meters to either side, and dangerous looking. Riko touched the stretched membrane gently, feeling it's thickness. “Does it tear easily?” After all, they couldn't afford a member who can get injured easily, never mind his awesome capabilities other wise. “No.” His answer was curt and to the point, his light rasp conjuring images of dragons before her. She noted his answer and continued her appraisal. Nothing stood out to her and she was both disappointed and curious as she got to the last prospective member. “Kuroko Tetsuya.” Riko stated blandly, searching his face for any kind of response. It remained carefully blank, although Tetsuya felt a swarm of emotions.

Riko looked at his body, but couldn't see anything special. _Underwhelming._ As she walked around to look at his back, his stats seemed to suddenly jump through the roof. With wide eyes, Riko looked at his back more closely. As Tetsuya shifted in discomfort at her staring, muscles seemed to ripple and Riko grinned in viciousness. “Spread your wings, please.” For all she thought, the most she expected was for his wings to be slightly above average.

What she didn't expect is for his wings to basically eclipse both him and her. Spluttering, Riko and the others all took steps back. “How big are they?!” She managed to get out as she observed his build more thoroughly. “Just over three meters on either side.” Tetsuya was extremely quiet as they watched him.

Riko tapped a finger to her chin. She had only heard of this specific build from her father who had trained a few of them. While the usual build allowed for a versatile flying style, this downward slant was best for explosive and twisting movements, so kind of limiting. Riko gently gripped one of the pitch black wings and felt the bones. _Hm. He's got an extra one. That makes things a little interesting._

“Can I still join?”

Tetsuya's gaze was downcast. He'd often had people look at his wings, their build and color, and call him unlucky. He'd had people – _Akashi and the rest of them_ – laugh at him when he suggested things to try. Akashi had called him unusable.

Teppei's laughter rang clear in the hall. “Of course!”

“Are you going to take him under your wing?” Izuki's pun had all of them groaning in response and Tetsuya smiling more widely. He'd deal with his mother another day. Glancing at his new team mates, Teppei caught his eyes and flared his own downy, brown wings to their fullest. They were almost as big as his own. “We're the same.” He mouthed, finally understanding the smaller boy's fear.

“Ey! Kiyoshi, cut it out! You're hitting my face!”


End file.
